UNITED STATES NEWS

Idaho high court says trial for man charged with killing 4 university students will be held in Boise

Sep 12, 2024, 12:18 PM | Updated: 12:24 pm

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The trial of a man charged in the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students will be held in Boise, roughly 300 miles (482.80 kilometers) from where the crimes occurred, the Idaho Supreme Court announced Thursday.

The Idaho Supreme Court’s order appointing a new judge and transferring the trial set for June 2025 comes in response to a ruling from 2nd District Judge John Judge, who said extensive media coverage of the case, the spreading of misinformation on social media and statements by public officials made it doubtful that Bryan Kohberger could receive a fair trial in university town of Moscow, Idaho.

Kohberger faces four counts of murder in the deaths of Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, and prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty if he is convicted. The four University of Idaho students were killed sometime in the early morning hours of Nov. 13, 2022, in a rental house near the campus.

The ruling means that all hearings and other proceedings in the case will now be held at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, before 4th District Judge Steven Hippler. The Boise building is much larger than the courthouse in Moscow, with bigger courtrooms, space for overflow seating and a larger security area for screening visitors. It also has protected routes for sensitive witnesses to enter and leave the courtroom — something that Judge had noted the Latah County courthouse lacked.

Kohberger’s defense team sought the change of venue, saying strong emotions in the close-knit community and constant news coverage would make it impossible to find an impartial jury in the small university town where the killings occurred.

But prosecutors opposed the switch, arguing that any problems with potential bias could be resolved by simply calling a larger pool of potential jurors and questioning them carefully. They noted the inconvenience of forcing attorneys, witnesses, family members of the victims and others to travel to a different city.

The right to a fair trial and impartial jurors is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, and it is not uncommon for a trial to be moved to a new location in an effort to protect those rights.

Kohberger, a former criminal justice student at Washington State University, opted to stand silent when asked to enter a plea in the case last year, and so a not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf by the judge.

Authorities have said that cellphone data and surveillance video shows that Kohberger visited the victims’ neighborhood at least a dozen times before the killings; that he traveled in the region that night, returning to Pullman, Washington, along a roundabout route; and that his DNA was found at the crime scene.

His lawyers said in a court filing he was merely out for a drive that night, “as he often did to hike and run and/or see the moon and stars.”

Police arrested Kohberger six weeks after the killings at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania, where he was spending winter break.

United States News

FILE - Trucks line up to enter a Port of Oakland shipping terminal on Nov. 10, 2021, in Oakland, Ca...

Associated Press

Trump pauses tariffs on millions of low-value packages from China

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has paused imposing tariffs on small-value packages arriving from China, apparently to give federal agencies time to sort out how to process millions of such shipments that have come through the U.S. border every day without paying taxes. The executive order, dated Wednesday, didn’t say when the pause would […]

1 hour ago

Jim Becker, a former Associated Press journalist, holds a book showing a 1945 photo of him as a Sta...

Associated Press

Jim Becker, AP reporter who covered Jackie Robinson and an underdog Hawaii football team, dies at 98

HONOLULU (AP) — Jim Becker, a world-traveling journalist who covered Jackie Robinson’s big-league baseball debut and the U.S. Army’s retaking of Seoul during the Korean War, died Friday. He was 98. He died of natural causes at a Honolulu hospital, said his goddaughter Carla Escoda Brooks. Becker served as an Associated Press bureau chief in […]

1 hour ago

FILE - Congregants leave the First Haitian Evangelical Church in Springfield, Ohio, Jan. 26, 2025. ...

Associated Press

Springfield, Ohio, sues neo-Nazi group that it says led Haitian intimidation

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio city that was racked with chaos and threats last year related to an influx of Haitian immigrants filed a lawsuit on Thursday against a neo-Nazi group that it alleges was at the heart of the onslaught. The city of Springfield, Mayor Rob Rue and several others sued the Blood […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Threats follow Michigan lawmaker who said she had surgery to remove reproductive organs

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan state lawmaker told a crowd protesting President Trump’s early actions this week that she underwent elective surgery to remove her reproductive organs. State Rep. Laurie Pohutsky’s account was cheered by the left-leaning protestors and condemned by right-wing social media accounts. The 36-year-old Democrat said the surgery was a personal […]

2 hours ago

Judge Jefferson Griffin, the Republican candidate for the N.C. Supreme Court listens to testimony i...

Associated Press

North Carolina judge upholds close Supreme Court election result, but more legal steps are expected

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina trial judge on Friday upheld decisions by election officials to reject protests by the trailing candidate in a very close state Supreme Court election who wants tens of thousands of contested ballots removed from the race tallies. In three one-page orders, Superior Court Judge William Pittman affirmed the […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Racial bias tainted jury selection and death sentence for a Black man in North Carolina, judge says

SMITHFIELD, N.C. (AP) — Racial bias tainted the decision to strike Black people from the jury pool and to impose the death penalty in the 2009 trial of a Black man in North Carolina, a judge ruled on Friday, part of what he called “glaring” patterns of bias in a prosecutorial district outside the capital. […]

2 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

...

Asset Preservation Wealth & Tax

How to optimize the most money in 2024 tax returns

As tax season begins, getting your financials in order is important to maximize your tax return.

...

Fiesta Bowl Foundation

Join us for the 52nd annual Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade

The 52nd annual Vrbo Fiesta Bowl Parade presented by Lerner & Rowe returns on Saturday, December 28, at 10 a.m.

...

Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Why a Heating Tune-Up is Essential Before Winter

PHOENIX, AZ — With cooler weather on the horizon, making sure your heating system is prepped and ready can make all the difference in staying comfortable this winter.

Idaho high court says trial for man charged with killing 4 university students will be held in Boise